Linxia

Linxia is a county-level city in the province of Gansu of the People's Republic of China, and the capital of the multi-ethnic Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture. It is located in the valley of the Daxia River 150 km southwest of the provincial capital Lanzhou. It was formerly known as Han, and was later changed to Daohe and then Hezhou. Since the founding of administrative divisions during the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC), it has always been a link between western and central China. Linxia was a vital passage in the ancient Silk Road, Tang-Tibet and Gansu-Sichuan ancient roads, and was praised as the 'dock on land in West China'. The city was established in 1956, being one of the only two autonomous prefectures of Hui ethnic minority. Situated in the transition zone between Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Loess Plateau, the land is higher in the southwest and lower in the northeast. It is basically made up of river valley area and a dry loess region with alpine areas.

Liujiaxia Reservoir is a smooth lake in the high gorges, being the largest inland reservoir in Northwest China. After admiring the reservoir on the way westward, visitors can see the ancient grottoes situated high on the cliffs. Nowadays, the Grottoes at Bingling Temple has become a hot attraction along the ancient Silk Road. Nanguan Mosque one of the famous Islamic shrines in China's northwest region first built in the Yuan Dynasty